Grand Rapids Gaia House Cafe Closes, New Lounge Planned

In Grand Rapids ever-shifting dining scene, we're saying goodbye to a vegetarian restaurant and hello to a whole different kind of business.

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Vegetarian Spot on Plainfield Headed for Closure

According to Crain’s Grand Rapids, Gaia House Cafe on Plainfield Avenue is set to close at the end of the month.

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The space has deep roots in the city: longtime locals might remember it as Gaia Cafe, a poetry and coffee house back in the 1980s before it eventually became a vegetarian restaurant in East Hills.

Gaia House Cafe via Facebook/ Canva

After closing in 2014, it made a comeback in 2021 when longtime employee Andrea Bumstead revived the concept and relocated it to Creston Heights. The eatery offers up a vegetarian menu, including salads, soups, sandwiches, breakfast items and desserts.

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Former NBA Player Plans Hookah Lounge and Cocktail Bar

So far, there hasn’t been an official announcement on the restaurant’s website or Facebook page. But as Crain’s reports, a major change is already in motion behind the scenes.

The building at 1553 Plainfield Ave. NE was purchased last May by Allen Durham, a Grand Rapids native and former professional basketball player. Durham played at Grace Bible College before continuing his career overseas and in the NBA G-League. He’s also spent time coaching locally, including a role at Davenport University, and was recently named the new men’s basketball coach at Kuyper College for the 2025–2026 season.

Durham tells Crain’s that Bumstead chose not to renew her lease, and he now has something new in mind for the space. He's planning to open up a cocktail and hookah lounge, offering a more relaxed option that he says fills a gap in the local nightlife scene:

Downtown has breweries and things, but we don’t have a kick-back lounge, a place where you can have a conversation. It’s either a brewery or a full-on nightclub, nothing really in between… I think the event space will do really well in this area because it will be something affordable that everybody can use.

If all goes according to plan, renovations will begin soon, with the new bar and lounge expected to open by the end of the year.

The future of Gaia House Café is unknown at this point.

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Gallery Credit: Janna